Monthly Archives: July 2013

Cronuts Craze

By | Foodie, Recipes, Workshops | No Comments

 Cronuts craze!!!

How quickly our country caught up on the craze!

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Maybe some classes in Enderun on how to make them? 🙂

 

Tei An Dallas

By | Foodie, Travel | One Comment

Thanks to this magazine we found in the hotel room, we sort of used it as a guide 🙂

We followed several in the magazine and went to Tei An.  

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It was in this complex with several other restaurants 

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We actually went without reservation and they turned us down because we did not have one and they were quite full and busy.  So we made a reservation and came back for dinner 🙂 I am so glad we went back because this was one of my favorite places

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It’s Japanese fusion

We were so intrigued by the Kakiage and was feeling bad we could not order it.  Apparently it has something to do with the oil.  The chef wants to oil to be fresh and so he will not cook anymore at a certain time once the oil is stale

Loved the tempura – the batter was potato chips 🙂

I don’t eat uni but I love risotto and this was really good!!

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I ordered the soba risotto!!! YUMMY!!!!!!

 

While everyone is into the ramen craze, we are moving on to Soba! atleast in this restaurant 🙂

 A little room for dessert

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Enjoy Starbucks Coffee Hot or Over Ice

By | What's New at Starbucks? | No Comments

 A blend of beans from East Africa, with citrus and spice notes. This coffee is delicious iced or hot. 

East Africa Blend is the perfect coffee when served over ice. Juicy and refreshing, it goes great with citrus flavors.

Starbucks has been buying coffees from East Africa since 1971. These coffees are exotic and offer unique flavors of citrus, spice and berries not found in coffee from any other region. We drink these coffees hot all year, but they make such great iced coffees too.

This medium roast blend is bright and medium-bodied, striking an invigorating balance between the citrus and spice notes from Kenya and the subtle floral aromas and crisp acidity from Ethiopia. 

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Dinner at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek

By | Accomodations, Travel | No Comments

Arrived in Dallas and had a wonderful dinner!!!

 

We were only 4 for dinner since James and Javier were still on their way.  So the whole table had the 4 course degustation and it was AMAZING!!!

We were back again the third night of our stay since Javier wanted to try what his brother Jaime was raving about.  We started earlier this time so it was still bright

Loved this flat bread with cheese

This time everyone had ala carte

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Green Asparagus Risotto

White asparagus from the degustation menu

King Crab Soup

Seared Foie Gras

Javier ordered many dishes from the degustation – Chilled Lobster

Dover Sole

From the degustation – Lamb Loin

Berkshire Pork 

Vital Farms Chicken

 Dry Aged Prime Rib Eye from the degustation 

Truffle Mac and Cheese

No dessert anymore on the second night

But they have us this tray with cookies 🙂 

 

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Honesty in Action

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From San Francisco we went to Dallas.  We took two different flights.  James and Javier were together and when they got to their seat in the plane- there was no more space in the overhead cabin so the flight attendant said they had to check in the hand carry of James.  James had forgot that he put his wallet in the pocket of his hand carry but when he arrived in Dallas, he checked and his wallet was still there except for the cash 🙁   I promised my Mom I would share this story so that others may beware and be more mindful of their belongings.  So be very careful of your things in the plane even if it is in your seat and when you are sleeping or going to the bathroom  

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Another incident happened in CVS and Javier bought an iTunes card together with James’ purchase.  We had already gone inside the car to leave and we saw the cashier go outside to give us the iTunes card that Javier left on the counter.  We were so happy that the cashier was very honest and he even ran out to look for us to give us the card  

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And when I arrived, a Heart2Heart friend, JayJay shared with me her husband’s experience at Rustan’s Expresslane in San Antonio.  I wish there were more honest people like these 
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Lolo Dad’s Cafe

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Heart2Heart was so happy to be back at Lolo Dad’s!  The last time I was here was maybe 10 years or so when it was relatively new.  They were one of the first ones to introduce sea bass in the Philippines!  

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They have now expanded their dining area and can now serve up to 50 people

 Thank you Ding Ayuyao and Teddy Montelibano for inviting us to have dinner at Lolo Dad’s!

A cute story from Mia Ayuyao.  Mia used to work for my Mom in Bon Apetit Patisserie and Cafe! 🙂  She helped my Mom put up the cafe in the Shangri-la Mall

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And we are truly honored to have been able to taste a meal prepared by Chef Ariel Manuel who is truly truly amazing!!!!  This is our first time to have this experience.  The last time I saw Chef Ariel was when Chef Jay Gamboa invited us to the Final Practice of the Culinary Team in 2009 and at that time the food was prepared by the team

Previous entry:  Culinary Team Pilipinas 2009 – Final Practice May 3, 2009

If we go all the way to Antonio’s, Quirino Highway is not too far away and believe me it is worth the trip!  Chef Tonyboy Escalante of Antonios and Chef Ariel both came from the Tivoli – which is no surprise why I like them both – Tivoli is one of my favorite restaurants!  

I love watching the Chef in action – who by the way is so soft spoken, so simple and so humble!!

I love samplers!!!  This is how I like to eat – a little of everything!  I cannot eat one dish the whole meal, I prefer having a little bite of everything and this is what Chef Ariel prepared for our appetizer.  Lolo Dad’s is also known for Foie Gras – and foie gras is an exception, I can have a dish of Foie gras and finish it all 🙂lolo-dads-menu-starters.jpg

 Which explains why I liked this dish too!! SUPER YUM!!!  Baked Oysters on Angel Hair pasta with slivers of seared duck foie gras

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 And some sorbet in this cute little teapot

Watching Chef Ariel again 🙂  He is making our special lobster gratin dish which is new on the menu.  I asked Chef Ariel who the young chefs were and from where they are – he said that they were interning at his restaurant.  I told him how lucky they are to be trained under him!! And being the humble guy that he is, he told me, I can only offer them a free meal!!  My gosh! I told Chef that they are benefitting so much and learning so much from him and that it is worth much more than any free meal or any monetary value!  Heart2Heart loves chefs that share their talent with others 🙂  Thank you Chef Ariel!

And here is our lobster!! Wow!! This was really good!! Thank you Chef Ariel!

Teddy told me that Chef Ariel had no formal schooling for cooking.  His dad made him take architecture which explains the colors and the height in his cooking 🙂  

All angles of this delicious creature 🙂  We kept turning around the plate to see what angle would be good for the photo

Gratinated Lobser with Mushroom and Mustard Sauce

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Confit of Kurobota Pork Belly as recommened by Chef Ariel – so James ordered this

Herb de Provence Crusted Rack of Lamb Three Cheese Risotto – YUMMY!! This was mine!  lolo-dads-menu-meats.jpglolo-dads-menu-desserts.jpg

White Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries

Frozen Mango Terrine

Love love samplers!!  Sampler of Chocolates!

I heard from Teddy that this tasting menu was fantastic!  They have tasting menus every now and then

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Heart2Heart loves this place!!!

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